What horror anthology on body enhancements wouldn’t include gross-out fiction? This book has it in spades. But, this collection of stories goes far beyond that. Here you will also find science fiction, surreal fiction, fantasy, and even a full serving of dark humor. Disturbing, perverse, often gut-wrenching (pun intended) stories — all between the covers of this anthology!

Nineteen chilling tales by some of the best horror and suspense writers today. Definitely not for the squeamish!

What anthology is it? It’s ZIPPERED FLESH 3: YET MORE TALES OF BODY ENHANCEMENTS GONE BAD (see September 19, August 5, et al.) which, according to Weldon Burge of Smart Rhino Publications, has now been published as of September 22 in paperback format. For more information/ ordering press here. ZIPPERED FLESH 3 is the “other” body horror anthology (cf. just below) and, at 388 pages, also a hefty book my part of which is the final story, “Golden Age,” a less “gut-wrenching” than some SF story of reasoned reflection, but possibly just right to cap the anthology.

The human body has long been the enemy of horror films. One only has to look as early as THE INVISIBLE MAN or THE WOLFMAN for manifestations of physical forms undergoing irrevocable change. But the body horror genre encompasses three distinct variations of organic terror: invasion via disease or decomposition, violation through mutilation or penetration, and transformation from areconstitution of biology.

Body horror? Yes, today’s email includes an announcement from Gehenna & Hinnom Editor/Publisher C.P. Dunphey that Shane Ramirez’s “Deconstructing Body Horror,” part of which is quoted above, as originally published in SOUNDONSIGHT.ORG and POPTOPIQ.COM has been selected as the introduction for YEAR’S BEST BODY HORROR 2017 ANTHOLOGY, the contents page for the rest of which has appeared below (cf. August 10, also September 18, 13, et al.). This is a large book at 400-some pages, with forty-plus stories, expected out on September 30 and available for e-copy pre-order by pressing here. And my cut in the carnage? A story called “Flesh,” the surrealistic tale of a man of means and a nightmare-based need of a weighty nature.

Well, I couldn’t resist it, and I do have a story in it, an actually gentle science fiction musing called “Golden Age” at last place in the contents. But Smart Rhino Publications’s ZIPPERED FLESH 3: YET MORE TALES OF BODY ENHANCEMENT GONE BAD (cf. August 5, June 19, et al.) promises, overall, not to be a book for the squeamish, as you may find out too by pressing here.

But — WARNING! — best not be eating when you get to the part, after you’ve gotten a view of an advance copy of the book itself, at the very end.

The gravitational assist trajectories at Jupiter were successfully carried out by both Voyagers, and the two spacecraft went on to visit Saturn and its system of moons and rings. Voyager 1 encountered Saturn in November 1980, with the closest approach on November 12, 1980, when the space probe came within 124,000 kilometers (77,000 mi) of Saturn’s cloud-tops. The space probe’s cameras detected complex structures in the rings of Saturn, and its remote sensing instruments studied the atmospheres of Saturn and its giant moon Titan. (Wikipedia, “Voyager 1”)

Two items occurred to me to close out the weekend, the first that there were space probes prior to Cassini (cf. September 17, 11, 7), including Voyagers 1 and 2 which also paid a visit to Saturn. Launched 16 days apart in 1972, Voyager 1 was actually the second, but was on a trajectory that had it reaching Saturn first, performing flybys of not just Saturn and Titan, but also the moons Tethys, Mimas, Enceladus, Rhea, and Hyperion. And while Voyager 2 also went on to Uranus and Neptune, on August 12 2012 Voyager 1 became the first human-made object to enter interstellar space. Also, unlike Cassini, both Voyagers continue to journey outward.

So, why my interest? Thirteen years after Voyager 1 and Saturn, a story of mine, one marking a breakthrough in my writing in my opinion, appeared in the July 1993 edition of Algys Budrys’s short-lived magazine TOMORROW. Titled “Moons of Saturn,” it told of a couple watching a detailed series of news items on TV of the Voyager mission as it might have been, bringing in also the mythical origins of the moons’ names. Added to this are fancied adventures on, e.g., the “jewel mines of Rhea,” these conducted through dreams or, possibly, astral projection, all through which the woman, Phoebe, named for one of the moons herself, grows progressively weaker as the man (“Enceladus,” as named by Phoebe) attempts to find a cure. This latter possibly with tones of vampirism. . . .

And the thing is (or, here comes the plug!), while TOMORROW and its electronic successor TOMORROW SF are now long gone, “Moons of Saturn” has been reprinted in my collection THE TEARS OF ISIS. For more information, or possible purchase, just press its picture in the center column.

Then one more item in the life of the writer: Gehenna and Hinnom Editor/Publisher C.P. Dunphey emailed that the payment for my story in THE YEAR’S BEST BODY HORROR 2017 ANTHOLOGY (see September 13, August 10, May 8) has been sent to Paypal — a thing good to know since Paypal seems no longer to bother to tell people themselves when they’ve received money. The story in question here is called “Flesh” — and like “Moons of Saturn” may be a little on the surreal side although with a more domestic setting — and also a reprint originally published in Spring 1999 in MAELSTROM SPECULATIVE FICTION. THE YEAR’S BEST BODY HORROR can be pre-ordered now, by pressing here, in anticipation of a September 30 publication date.

Can’t resist reprinting this just-received press release from Gehenna & Hinnom (seeing as how I’m mentioned in it): MISSISSIPPI, September 30th, 2017: C.P. Dunphey, critically acclaimed author of PLANE WALKER, has collected 40+ stories from the best up-and-coming authors in horror for Gehenna & Hinnom’s debut collection, THE YEAR’S BEST BODY HORROR 2017 ANTHOLOGY. From Bram Stoker Award-nominated authors like James Dorr, to bestselling science fiction authors like David Beers, the anthology presents no shortage of entertaining visceral horror.

Coming off the heels of an incredibly successful first two issues of HINNOM MAGAZINE — one an H.P. Lovecraft-themed memorial collection — Gehenna & Hinnom launches itself into Late-September with unprecedented anticipation for their Body Horror Anthology. From tales of infectious diseases rotting flesh to cosmic horror stories of perversion and mysticism, horror readers of all audiences will love this collection.

But more to the immediate point, here is the announcement late yesterday from Editor/Publisher C.P Dunphey: We are excited to announce that the Body Horror Anthology is live for pre-order in digital formats! The release date is still set for September 30th for both print and e-book, and we are excited to unleash this behemoth into the world.

At 400 pages, this will be a big book (cf. August 10 for a contents listing, May 8), with a pre-order price for the Kindle edition at $4.99. And as noted above, both print and electronic versions will be physically out at the end of the month. My part in this one is a slightly surrealistic tale called “Flesh,” of a man of wealth who has a weight problem, but perhaps not the kind one might first think.

So if you can’t wait (and who could blame you?) to pre-order now press here.

This is just a quick note that my story “Flightless Rats,” of the vampiress Aimée’s difficulties with dating in Nineteenth Century New Orleans, is now available in FANTASIA DIVINITY MAGAZINE (see July 16, 7). This is a somewhat bare-bones version which can be read on their website here, with a more completely formatted version in both print and e-formats to be available in the near future. More to be reported here when it is known.

Labor Day, the “official” ending of the summer season, no wearing of white till the next Memorial Day, the beginning of work through fall and winter, and . . . what’s that about a connection between Edgar Allan Poe and Winnie the Pooh? For that last, welcome to the first interview for Fall 2018, courtesy of THE TATTOOED BOOK GEEK (cf. August 20), coming to us from across the Atlantic. The answers to questions which sometimes boil down to “I don’t know either” — and some where I do! The origins of ideas? Writers of influence? What can a reader do (other than buying his or her books, of course) to best help an author?

And what of connections not just between Poe and Pooh, but art and death? Revealed perhaps in a peek at the Stoker(R)-nominated THE TEARS OF ISIS. And “mosaic” novels? The hint’s in a note and a blurb for my latest book, TOMBS: A CHRONICLE OF LATTER-DAY TIMES OF EARTH. Again to find out, some things possibly already known, other things all new, one need but click on the books’ own pictures in the center column, and also for British blogger Drew Weldon’s THE TATTOOED BOOK GEEK interview, press here.

Though as it happens, I’ve seen most myself. Nevertheless . . . SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE, THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE, DRACULA: PAGES FROM A VIRGIN’S DIARY, PONTYPOOL, what do these titles all have in common? They’re all on the list, courtesy of THE LINEUP (the-line-up.com), of 13 DISTURBINGLY UNDERRATED HORROR MOVIES OF THE 2000S THAT YOU NEED TO SEE by Catherine Phelan. As Ms Phelan explains: It’s hard to know when you’re living in the middle of a cultural hotspot. Looking back at the first decade of this century, there was something brewing in the horror world. From THE DESCENT and THE RING to LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, filmmakers of the 2000s took advantage of new special effects, quieter stories, and newly global anxieties to create some of the most terrifying horror movies ever.

But for all the films like DRAG ME TO HELL that received rave reviews and are still remembered fondly by horror fans, there are a number of movies that slipped through the cracks. Let’s bring back some love to the underrated or underseen horror movies of the 2000s — we promise they’ll scare the pants off of you.

To be honest, I didn’t think all of them were that obscure, but then maybe that’s me — and certainly some, like the Dracula film noted above, a ballet version of the Stoker classic(!), have been a little bit out of the mainstream. And also, technically, it’s not really a list of thirteen, but rather ten with three “Honorable Mentions” added after, but however you count them to see the list press here.

And then there’s also a bonus link between films 6 and 7, DARK WATER and THE WOODS, to Rob Fee’s 11 CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED HORROR MOVIES YOU SHOULD WATCH IMMEDIATELY — and with only one duplication, I think! This one can be reached by pressing here.

It’s either going to be a big, big book or a lot of the stories will be rather short, but Gehenna & Hinnom’s upcoming YEAR’S BEST BODY HORROR (cf. May 8) looks like it’s going to be exciting reading. Set for a publication date of September 30, here is the table of contents along with the cover, as released Wednesday evening by Editor C.P. Dunphey.

Table of Contents:

(Note: We have decided to go by alphabetical order by author for the stories, since there are just so many high quality pieces.)

And in an ongoing news note, both Amazon and Barnes & Noble are back to offering pretty deep print copy discounts for TOMBS: A CHRONICLE OF LATTER-DAY TIMES OF EARTH, with the B&N price at $11.28 (compared to a full price of $14.95) and Amazon at $10.65, 25 and 29 percent off, respectively. (For electronic prices, B&N’s Nook is at $8.49, Amazon’s Kindle $8.99.) I don’t know if this is an August thing, or if it will even last through the month — or extend beyond. However, if interested, Barnes & Noble can be checked out here and Amazon here.

On both sites there may be individual sellers as well with copies at even lower prices. But if you find the bargain you want, and like the book too, please consider posting a review of TOMBS at both locations.

July seems to be the month for sending a thing to one place, seeing it come back accepted by another. One example, “Flightless Rats” (see July 7), the tale of an innocent vampire maid and a bounder’s attempt on her virtue in 19th century New Orleans. For today, the call had been in April. It took some time, but the time has come: we’re putting together an anthology of poetry and flash fiction about spirits, ghosts, seances, Ouija boards, famous hauntings, not-so-famous hauntings, possessions, and anything else relating to supernatural bumps in the night (or day, we aren’t fussy). And there it was. Reprints being okay, I responded with the 300-word saga of a young lady with an interest in witches, but, if these weren’t available, other bump-in-the-nightly creatures would do, and lessons she learned in a house she was told was haunted. Originally published in GOTHIC BLUE BOOK IV: THE FOLKLORE EDITION (Burial Day Books, 2014), the title was “School Nights.”

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Today the word came back from Managing Editor Kate Garrett, not for the anthology, WHITE NOISE & OUIJA BOARDS, but for the publisher’s seasonal magazine THREE DROPS FROM A CAULDRON. I really enjoyed this story, and though it isn’t quite right for the ghosts anthology, I wondered if it would be okay for me to publish it in the Samhain 2017 edition? I like spookier, horror-tinged work for that one, and would love to include your story. The Samhain special will be published online and in print on 13th October. (And it isn’t technically open for submissions until 21st August, but I really like this.)

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About Me

Be on the watch for my newest book, TOMBS: A CHRONICLE OF LATTER-DAY TIMES OF EARTH, a novel-in-stories just released from Elder Signs Press in June 2017. I am an Indiana based short story writer and poet with three primarily prose collections, STRANGE MISTRESSES: TALES OF WONDER AND ROMANCE and DARKER LOVES: TALES OF MYSTERY AND REGRET published by Dark Regions Press and the Bram Stoker Award(R) nominated THE TEARS OF ISIS from Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing, and an illustrated all-poetry collection, VAMPS (A RETROSPECTIVE), from Sam’s Dot Publishing/ White Cat Publications. I also have a novelette, THE GARDEN (currently out of print) from Damnation Books; electronic chapbooks VANITAS and I’M DREAMING OF A . . . and novelette PEDS from Untreed Reads Publishing; POLUDNITSA in Chamberton Publishing’s “Chimera” short fantasy series; and more than five hundred individual appearances in magazines and anthologies in the US, Canada, Britain, France, Australia, Holland, and Brazil, ranging from ABORIGINAL SCIENCE FICTION and ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S MYSTERY MAGAZINE to XENOPHILIA and THE YELLOW BAT REVIEW. In the past I have worked a number of jobs including technical writer, city editor on a regional magazine, full time non-fiction freelancer, and semi-professional musician, and now reside in southern Indiana with current cat, Triana, named for the goth-styled daughter of Dr. Orpheus in the VENTURE BROS. Cartoon Channel series. As a writer, I count as influences (among others) Edgar Allan Poe, Ray Bradbury, Allen Ginsberg, and Bertolt Brecht.